Lisa Berlanga, executive director the group San Diego United Parents for Education, prefers that method.

That way districts would have the flexibility to determine where to target the money, she said.

Berlanga hopes lawmakers establish two oversight committees — one statewide and one local — that would ensure the money is spent properly.

De León said communities and schools will benefit in a number of ways once the program is underway.

“My No. 1 focus is to create jobs for those who have been chronically unemployed or underemployed,” De León said.

He estimates that about 60,000 jobs could open up as districts begin retrofitting campuses.

“These are 60,000 jobs that cannot be exported to another state, or to Mexico or to China. These are labor-intensive jobs done on site by Californians,” he said.

That has drawn the attention of Tom Lemmon, business manager of the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council. Lemmon said he will press the committee to assure local workers are hired for local jobs.

“We don’t want to see one contractor bringing in his workforce up and down the state,” Lemmon explained. “The money should be spent for the workers in the area.”

The bonds through Propositions Z and S have such provisions.

Jobs for those living in disadvantaged communities will also be stressed by the National City-based Environmental Health Coalition.

“The critical element for us is matching job opportunities that are being created with these investments,” said Nicole Capretz, the group’s associate director, adding many of them voted for Proposition 39. “They are vested in building a clean energy economy. They get it.”

De León also said districts will win in other ways. For example, the less they spend on heating and cooling the more money there is for teachers, books or other programs.

“The money we save can be reinvested in the classroom,” he said.

San Diego Unified’s utility bills run between $12 million and $14 million annually, according to local officials. De León said Los Angeles Unified spends $105 million and schools statewide must budget about $1 billion a year on energy.

Another battle looms down the road on a separate front. Renewable energy advocates are pushing to set aside money for wind and solar. They contend districts could sell the excess energy for a profit, but others question whether the initial outlay is worth the price given demand will outstrip the available money.